Heating and humidifying unit



Sept. 29, 1931. E. H. HOLDEN HEATING AND HUMIDIFYING UNIT Filed March 25,. 1929 Patented Sept. 2 9, 1931 UNITED STATES (PATENT OFFICE EUGENE H. HOLDEN, F ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS HEATING AND HUMIDIII'YHVG UNIT Application filed March 23, 1929. Serial No. 349,379.

constantly maintained in the air of the room. It is a well known fact that the atmosphere in a room in the winter time is an extremely artificial one, beingnot only many de es warmer than the atmosphere out- 1 doors but also much drier. Such an atmosphere is not healthy because the low relative humidity causes excessive evaporation from the skin, lungs and respiratory passages and places an undue strain on the body in the rapid adjustment which must be made when passing from the dry heated air of the room to the outer air, the temperature of which is far lower and the humidity of which is very much higher.

This invention provides a self-contained heating and humidifying' unit, comprising heating and humidifying means, located outside the room to be heated and functioning as a recirculating indirect system to supply the room with air containing the amount of heat and moisture necessary to overcome these objectionable conditions.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a recirculating indirect air treating unit b which the air in the room is both heate and humidified. A further object of this invention is to provide a unit of this type which is self-contained and 10-" cated outside the room, preferably being suspended from the floor so that it does not take up valuable wall space or interfere with the disposition of furniture and having a connection with .the room through a single opening. A still further object of this invention is to rovide a heating and humidi ing unit so constructed that air is drawn rom the room to be heated, circulates over a surface of water kept at the int of vaporization and past a radiator y which it is heated and then returns heated and moisture ladened to the room .from which it is drawn.

Other objects will appear to one skilled in I the ,art from a consideration of the follow- 1ng specification taken in connection with the drawings which form a part thereof and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view, portions being broken away, of a unit embodying one form of this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The heating unit preferably comprises a casing 10 closed at the bottom and open at the top. The walls 11 of the casing 10 are preferably insulated as shown in the draw ings and provided with outwardly projecting flanges for a purpose to be described later. The interior of the casing 10 is divided by a (partition 12 into two compartments 13 an short of the bottom of the casing, thus prov1d1ng a restricted passage 15 which connects the compartments.

Mounted in the compartment 14 which is shown in Fig. 2 as the larger is a radiator 16 of any desired form preferably one of the well known light weight type which is supported 'on straps 17 secured to one wall 11 and the partition 12. (See Fig. 2.) Heating fluid such as steam or hot water is introduced into the radiator 16 through an 1nlet pipe 18 and passes therefrom through the return pipe 19. In the passage 15 at the bottom of the casing 10 below the radiator 16 is placed a shallow pan 20 which preferably, though not necessarily, extends into both compartments substantially filling the space between the walls of the casing. The pan 20 is provided with a trough or depression 21 through which the return pipe 19 passes. Water is supplied to the pan in any suitable manner, as by means of an inlet pipe 22 and a valve 23. The flow of water is controlled by a ball cook 24.- which acts in the usual manner to cut off the supply when the water in the pan 20 has reached a desired level at which the water contacts 14, which partition terminates with the outer wall of the trough. When I the water in the pan falls below this level ature at which it vaporizes.

the ball cock 24'acts in the usual way to open the valve 23 and admit suflicient water to restore the desired level. An outlet and overflow pipe 25 permits draining of the pan and determines the height of the water level.

The casing 10 together with the radiator 16 and the water pan 20 thus form a unit which can be assembled at the factory or any desired point and shipped to the place of installation. The unit preferably is installed outside of the room A to be heated and in most instances is suspended from the floor joists B and connected to the room through an opening C in the floor D which is covered by a grille or grating 26. The casing 10 is preferably of such width that it will fit between two adjacent floor joists. If the casing is not installed longitudinally of the joists suitable headers (not shown) will be provided. The edges 27 of the rough flooring preferably define the opening and receive the flanges 28 of the casing walls 11 so that the entire weight of the unit is supported by the flanges. Any sup plementary support for the unit is not under ordinary conditions, required but may be provided if desired.

When the unit is installed as here shown and the heating fluid is supplied to the radiator 16, air will be drawn from the room through the grille 26 into the compartment 13 and will pass therefrom over the surface of the water in the pan 20 through the passage 15 into the compartment 14 where it will be heated by the radiator 16 and returned to the room. The course of the air is indicated on Fig. 2 by arrows. The return pipe 19 in the trough 21 normally raises the Water in the pan 20 to about the temper- If the heating fluid is not sufficiently hot its action on the water can be increased by inserting strips of copper or similar material between the pipe and the wall of the trough. In its passage through the casing the air picks up moisture from the water in the pan 20 so that in a very short time all the air in the room will be at the proper degree of humidity. The ball cock 24 ensures that the pan 20 be, at all times, filled with the water and the return pipe 19 keeps the water in the pan at the proper temperature to facilitate the removal of the moisture by the passing air.

Access to the interior of the casing 10 may be had through a door 30 one at each end. In order to regulate the circulation of the air through the casing 10 a damper 35 is provided in the compartment 14 above the radiator 16 which may be set at the proper osition by means of any suitable device. or example as shown in Fig. 1 the damper may be connected to a pivotally mounted bar or lever 36 which can be actuated by a rod or by the fingers through openings in the grille.

The bottom wall 40 of erably secured to the side rality of screws 41. The water pipes 21 and 25 pass through slots 42 in the end walls of the casing so that the pan 20 can be removed through the bottom of the casing by detaching the pipe connections in the well known manner.

While one embodiment has been shown and described it will be understood that this is merely illustrative and that other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A heating and humidifying unit for a room comprising a casing having an openthe casing is prefwalls 11 by a pluing into the room, a partition dividing the casing into two compartments each compartment opening into the room, a passage connecting said compartments, a pan in said passage adapted to contain water, means for heating the water in the pan and a radiator in one of said compartments whereby air is drawn from the room, circulates through one of said compartments over the surface of the Water in the pan and returns past the radiator into the room again, and a damper in the compartment containing the radiator for controlling the circulation of the air.

2. A heating and humidifying unit comprising a casing, a partition dividing said casing into two compartments, a passage connecting said compartments, a radiator supported in one of said compartments, a pan adapted to contain water in said passage, and means for supplying a heating fluid to the radiator comprising an inlet pipe and a return pipe, said last named pipe passing through the pan and heating the water therein.

3. A heating and humidifying unit comprising a casing, a partition dividing said casing into two compartments, a passage connecting said compartments, a radiator supported in one of said compartments, a pan adapted to contain water in said passage and extending below the radiator, and, means for supplying a heating fluid to the radiator comprising an inlet pipe and return pipe, said last named pipe passing through the pan and heating the water therein.

4. A heating and humidifying unit comprising a casing, a partition dividing aid casing into two compartments, a passage connecting said compartments, a radiator supported in one of said compartments, a pan in said passage adapted to contain water and having a trough therein, one wall of which is in contact with the water, means for supplying a heating fluid to the radiator comprising an inlet pipe and a return pipe, said last named pipe passing through the'trough and heating the water in the pan.

5. A heating and humidifying unit fora room comprising a casing having a vertical compartment therein in direct communcation at the upper end with the room through an opening in the casing, and a passage through which the lower end of the compartment is in communication with the room, a radiator in said compartment which when heated causes a circulation of air from the room through the passage and upwardly through the compartment past the radiator and through the opening in the casing into the room, means for supplying a heating fluid to the radiator comprising an inlet pipe and a return pipe, and a pan in the passage adapted to contain water, said return pipe passing through the an and heating the water therein, wherey the circulating air extracts moisture from the heated water in the pan on its way through the passage.

Signed byme at Boston, Massachusetts, this twenty-second day of March, 1929.

EUGENE H. HOLDEN. 

